Details
At first glance, thanks to the newish National neck, this looks like a fairly recent Style 0, but a second glance tells you it's not, so here's the story:
When this National fell into the hands of one of our Gryphon Repair techs it had a badly broken, and badly repaired, headstock. Not long after that a spare National replacement neck from the 1990s turned up, prompting our tech to put his considerable experience working on resonator guitars to good use putting the newer neck and old body together. The original serial number, which was on the back of the headstock, disappeared when the old neck was repaired but the style of the etching on the body tells us it's from the early 1940s.
The finish from the neck barrel and heel has been removed. The tailpiece is a new reproduction of the original style (the original tailpiece, broken, is included, as is the original mahogany neck). Tuners are new but are the style National used on slotted headstocks during this period. Metal National badge on the headstock was salvaged from the original neck. There's an output jack at the bottom of the body, just below the end pin, from an earlier pickup which has been removed. Cone and coverplate are original. There's a small hole in the treble side near the waist, and a hole with small screw in the top near upper portion of the treble side f hole, both are from National's original mounting of a pickguard. Our photos give you a better sense of the body's condition than a wordy description.
But in summary, this has that rare combination of old National Style 0 tone and modern National re-issue playability.
Specs
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Back sides
Nickel Plated Brass
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Fingerboard
Ebony
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Frets to body
14
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Neck material
Maple
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Neck shape
Soft V
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Nut width
1 13/16"
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Saddle spacing
2 5/16"
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Scale length
25"
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Top material
Nickel Plated Brass
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Total frets
19
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Tuners
Open Gear
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Year
c.1942
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Case type
Hardshell
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SKU
NATSTY0-
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UPC
121136
